Lauren Giraldo may seem like your average 19-year-old. She loves music, social media, and hanging out with her friends. However, this young star has taken her passion for acting and singing and turned it into a full-blown career. Between releasing her first single “Only Lovers” in January, filming her new series Lady Bits on Fullscreen, producing a docu-series, and gearing up for her first tour, Giraldo is anything but an ordinary teenager.
Growing up in Miami, Florida, Giraldo has always loved being on stage. The actress performed in musicals throughout her childhood and was able to cultivate her passion for acting and singing by performing in several musicals.
“I grew up performing musical theatre and have always loved to act and sing,” Giraldo recalls. “I grew up doing musical theatre throughout school. I was in shows like Annie and Oklahoma!”
Giraldo’s career started in 2013, with the introduction of Vine. She quickly gained millions of followers on the social media platform who tuned in to see her propose to strangers and invite people for group selfies. In 2016, Giraldo starred in Vine’s original series Camp Unplug, a humorous take on famous Vine stars going to camp for a social media detox. Since then, and now after the recent shut-down of Vine, the actress and singer has focused on several projects for other social media platforms, including hosting Lauren Against the Internet, go90’s clip-show.
Choker: JewelryBar USA, Romper: L’ATISTE BY AMY
With Giraldo’s experience and outgoing personality on stage, it was only a matter of time before she landed a movie role. She recently wrapped up filming indie movie Hope Springs Eternal, a dramedy that follows main character Hope Gracin as she navigates life after the remission of her once terminal cancer. Giraldo plays Zoe, a character much different from herself.
“She is the cool girl,” Giraldo says. “She’s very mean and is the most popular girl in school. It was an interesting character to portray since we are very different.”
Acting in a feature film was a much different experience than performing in web-series’ and musicals, but Giraldo loved the opportunity to really transform into her character, as well as learn about the movie industry hands-on.
“It was very fun to dive into my character and experience being on set for a feature film for the first time,” Giraldo explains. “Everyone in the production team on set was very talented and I learned so much from them. I can’t wait for everyone to see the finalized product!”
It’s important to always remain yourself in everything you post online and be confident in yourself.
So does the actress have her sights set on a dream role? Not exactly, but if she could go back in time, she would definitely push Lindsay Lohan aside to become America’s most loved not-so-mean girl.
“I would love to play Cady Heron from Mean Girls. I love a woman that can implement change,” Giraldo tells us. “Any role where I am playing a woman of power is inspiring for me.”
Aside from all of her acting projects, Giraldo has kept busy with debuting her first single and recording her EP. She describes her sound as “something everyone can vibe to.” Having been passionate about music from a young age, this big step in her music career is a dream come true for Giraldo.
Pants: Nasty Gal, Choker: Wren and Glory, Top: L’ATISTE BY AMY
“It has been my dream for so long to release original music that I am truly passionate about,” Giraldo explains. “I have poured so many emotions into my EP and shared a lot of my personal experiences and I cannot wait for all of my fans to hear my sound. Recording my debut EP has been the most exciting and rewarding project I have worked on in my career. It is so exciting to see all of my hard work come to life.”
Following the release of her new single, Giraldo will be going on tour throughout February and March. She will be stopping in California, Texas, Illinois, New York, and Canada. “I am so excited to be heading out on tour to meet and perform for all of my fans,” Giraldo says.
If acting, singing, and managing over 5 million followers across her social media channels wasn’t enough, Giraldo has stepped behind the scenes for her next project: producing a Latina docu-series. While she can’t release details just yet, Giraldo tells us that this new project is special to her because it is based in her hometown.
“I am currently working on executive-producing my first series and it has been such a great experience stepping behind the camera and being able to take on a new role,” Giraldo says. “The show is currently in the casting phase and it is based in Miami. The location hits very close to home since I grew up in the city surrounded by my family, my Colombian and Spanish roots, and Latina friends.”
Recording my debut EP has been the most exciting and rewarding project I have worked on in my career.
With so much going on, Giraldo has to make sure to stay organized, but finds time to relax with her friends when she can. Her hobbies aren’t unlike that of a normal 19-year-old, and Giraldo likes it that way.
“I love discovering new music to obsess over and be inspired by, exploring different restaurants, taking long drives, and just being social and going out with my friends,” Giraldo says of her time off work. “I find a way to balance my work and personal life, but it can be tricky at times.”
The young actress spends a lot of time acting and performing, so she finds it important to stay grounded, not just by keeping up with her friends, but by reminding herself to stay confident and to always be her authentic self. With over 630K followers on Instagram, and a huge presence online overall, staying genuine can be hard to do, but Giraldo says her fan base makes it easier.
“All of my followers are very accepting and I keep a very open relationship with them,” Giraldo says of her fans. “It’s important to always remain yourself in everything you post online and be confident in yourself.”
Dress: For love and Lemons, Fur: Revolve, Shoes: Cape Robbin
To aspiring actresses, singers, and producers, Giraldo has simple, but powerful advice: “Don’t view it as a completely unattainable dream. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and go for your dreams.” She also explains that her best role model is herself, and that self-motivation is key.
“I’ve always set goals for myself and used self-motivation to pursue my dreams and achieve what I want,” she says.
To catch up with Giraldo, be sure to look for the release of Hope Springs Eternal this year and visit www.laurengiraldo.com to see if her tour is stopping by your city.
See more exclusive photos from this story in the Feb/Mar 2017 issue of Cliché Magazine.
Read more Entertainment Interviews on ClicheMag.com
Lauren Giraldo is Gearing Up For Her Debut EP and Tour: Photographer: Quavondo, Hair: Gui @ Exclusive Artists, Makeup: Jesus G, Styling: Brandon Nicholas and Art Hunter
